Unexpected dog visitor

[HueyDueyandBluey]

We have an unexpected dog visitor for the next week and she's very unsettled, not eating and mostly hiding away. Any tips for making her feel a bit better?

Try giving her different food (chicken, rice) etc if she's not eating. Make sure she's drinking. Otherwise, just don't bother her. Don't loom over her (i.e. if she's by her bowl, don't stand nearby watching). She'll be stressed and on alert - hovering will seem threatening, even if you're trying to help. Give her space. If she comes to you, don't react too quickly. Don't try and force her. Just be patient.

I'm sure she'll be okay in a day or so :)

Ignore her, if dogs are unsure they like to not be looked at or acknowledged.

if you can, sit quietly in the room but just do something else like read a book and throw food occasionally but not close to you, just near her or even better alternate with just in front of her and behind her if you can.

if she comes to investigate you, let her, but still ignore her until it’s real obvious she’s wanting to interact.

I've made her some chicken and rice which has coaxed her to eat a few mouthfuls. She's really not drinking which is a worry in the heat. I'm not sure how we can encourage her drink more?

The chicken and rice will have the water in it so the dog won’t drink much water.

Make the chicken and rice really sloppy - cook it for much longer than it needs so it's absorbed lots of chickeny water. Then it wont matter so much if she's not drinking much.

She'll probably be more comfortable eating and drinking where she can't be seen.

If you're really concerned about her hydration there's a company called Furboost that make meat flavoured doggy nutrition drinks.
I use them to encourage my old boy to drink more in the hot weather or if he's off his food. They're a bit pricey but they're good in a pinch.

https://furrboost.com/
You can usually pick them up in pets at home/ the range/ on amazon so fairly easy to get ahold of.

Adding a splash of milk to dogs water often encourages them to drink it. No why but it really works!

I do this when mine have eaten shit! They'll drink a whole bowl and it cleans their mouths out 😉

I dug out some bone broth to add to her water and that did the trick. Thank you for the tip! Seeing how much distress this dog is under makes me realise how cruel it is when people sell on dogs they don't want anymore. We've visited this dog in her own home for years and she's comfortable and confident. She's a shaking shell of herself now that she's here without her people.